Destini McGhehey and the Bayfield Wolverines shot plenty against Alyssia Torres and the Monte Vista Pirates. They didn’t make many at first but turned a 17-3 halftime lead into a 53-28 win.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

Destini McGhehey and the Bayfield Wolverines shot plenty against Alyssia Torres and the Monte Vista Pirates. They didn’t make many at first but turned a 17-3 halftime lead into a 53-28 win.

You could say that Haley Clarke’s swished second free throw staunched the bleeding after four consecutive Bayfield turnovers and a 6-0 Monte Vista run as the Pirates launched a desperate comeback in the final minutes of their play-in postseason basketball game.

You could, but you’d be stretching the truth about as long as the Wolverines’ lead.

Because the quiet game in a nearly empty Bayfield High School gymnasium Tuesday night to determine which team earned a berth into the Intermountain League Tournament was way short on drama.

First-half points, too.

The Bayfield girls relentless trap defense gave way to a 17-3 halftime lead, which the Wolverines parlayed into a 36-12 gap by the end of three quarters.

Quick and pretty much meaningless scoring spurts in the final frame finally urged the game to a trot for the final 53-28 margin.

There was the Bayfield defense, foremost – a new trap “trick” as Micaela Knickerbocker described it – that kept the Pirates from finding a single basket until Ashley Martinez’s 3-pointer more than 13 minutes into the game.

She’d finish with 10 points to lead the Pirates, seven of them in the final few minutes.

“Our defense (Tuesday): I could not be more pleased with our defense,” said Knickerbocker, daughter of Kirk and Marie Knickerbocker. “It was amazing.”

But Bayfield didn’t do much better, scoring just seven in the first eight minutes – five of their first nine points on free throws.

There were turnovers galore, as well, courtesy of said Bayfield defense: 22 from Monte Vista in the first three quarters and 21 from Bayfield, total.

“They totally boosted us like no tomorrow,” Knickerbocker said. “We were ready to go and just kept pushing.”

Those turnovers translated into plenty of shots, most of them missed. The Wolverines hit close to 25 percent from the floor, and Monte Vista shot even worse.

“We were just shooting to find fouls; we weren’t shooting to make it,” Knickerbocker said.

Jaida Ross had 15 rebounds for the Bayfield Wolverines, and she had plenty of opportunities with Bayfield shooting about 25 percent from the floor. “I usually get motivated when I get the rebounds,” Ross said about adding some much-needed third-quarter points to spur the Wolverines’ runaway victory.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

Jaida Ross had 15 rebounds for the Bayfield Wolverines, and she had plenty of opportunities with Bayfield shooting about 25 percent from the floor. “I usually get motivated when I get the rebounds,” Ross said about adding some much-needed third-quarter points to spur the Wolverines’ runaway victory.

Haley Clarke scored seven points for the Wolverines, five on free throws. Bayfield beat Monte Vista 53-28 on Tuesday night at BHS to win the pigtail game and extend its season to the Intermountain League Tournament this weekend in Alamosa.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

Haley Clarke scored seven points for the Wolverines, five on free throws. Bayfield beat Monte Vista 53-28 on Tuesday night at BHS to win the pigtail game and extend its season to the Intermountain League Tournament this weekend in Alamosa.